Sofia and the girls stared into the distance, seeing a dark shadow fly into the sky. "This magic, Cain-nya?" Selena gasped.
"No, this isn't him." Sofia looked at the sky, worried. Alice smiled, "Morena,"
Thousands of Ice devils flew toward the invading dracolich, flinging spears and weapons, attempting to stop the monster.
Morena growled, sending waves of magic across the sky, "Melt like ice!" She roared [Acid Rain]
As Morena begins to chant the incantation for the [Acid Rain] spell, her eyes light up with an intense yellow glow. The air around her starts to feel charged with energy, and a gust of violent wind rushes from all directions.
Dark clouds quickly gather overhead, and Morena's voice grows louder as she continues to recite the spell. The clouds started to rumble and crackle with electricity, and lightning flashed across the sky.
Suddenly, raindrops started falling from the sky, but they were not the usual rain. These raindrops were a sickly green color. As they hit the ground, they sizzled and steamed.
The [Acid Rain] quickly starts to eat away at the ice and snow that covers the ground, leaving behind patches of blackened earth. The air got filled with the acrid smell of burning vegetation and melting ice.
The devils growled in pain as their skin started to fall off, watching their comrades rise as walking corpses in the middle of this apocalyptic nightmare.
As the [Acid Rain] continues to fall, Morena can feel the power of the spell coursing through her. She knows she can't let it go on forever, or the destruction it would cause would be catastrophic. She might not be Cain, but he would give her an ear full if she destroyed a whole hell layer. 'This place could be useful in the future.'
With a final word, Morena releases the last of the spell's energy, and the [Acid Rain] abruptly stops. Looking around, she can see the damage the magic has done. The once-pristine snow has been replaced by a barren wasteland, scarred by the acidic rain. Corpses growled on the ground, those who died and those awaiting their agonizing death.
As the Morena swoops down from the sky, her massive skeletal form casts a long shadow across the ground below. The bones of her wings creak and groan as it descends, her heavy body landing with a thud that shakes the very earth.
As Morena settles on the ground, the sound of her bones grinding together fills the air. Its movements are slow and deliberate, careful so she won't hit any of the girls with her massive, bulky skeletal body.
Levistus glared at her from his ice coffin, unable to believe the horrid monstrosity glaring at him.
"Freeze!" Levistus screamed from beneath the ice, sending a massive blast of frigid wind. Sofia was about to unleash a fire breath, but she suddenly felt heat rising from Morena's body.
'Inanna,' Morena thought, and her bones burst into flames, gathering the red embers in her chest. The moment she opened her jaw, a hellish stream of fire exploded forth.
The flames pushed Levistus's blast, engulfing the whole area around them as Inanna slowly solidified her presence on the layer. CRACK! When he was busy getting surprised by the flames, Morena bit his ice coffin, lifting him up in her jaw.
"Morena! Where is Cain?" Sofia asked.
Morena glared at her with one eye. CRACK! She bit Levistus in half, swallowing him on the spot, "His mind got knocked off my Glasya temporarily. I came out to help, but he will wake up soon." She replied.
"Didn't he kill Glasya?" Alice asked, and Morena returned to her humanoid form.
"Glasya is smart for a goddess," Morena scratched her head, "She slipped her soul into Gracie's body through direct contact with Cain and then took the opportunity to charm everyone." She looked at them, "But don't worry, Gracie is fine."
The girls sighed in relief, "How did you survive that-nya?" Selena asked, and Morena smiled.
"Me? I turned myself into an undead, and when I felt the charm kicking in, I re-charmed myself as a corpse." Morena explained, "You could say I controlled my body like a doll with strings instead of directly."
"You can do that?"
"It's only possible since I have a sturdy phylactery. I don't recommend that to anyone else. Even Bela is still unconscious even though she tried to do the same." Morena scratched her head.
"When will Cain wake up?" Alice asked.
"He just woke up. But I'm the one owning and controlling his body now." Morena smiled, "I could just delete his soul and be free with all his might, but here he is."
Morena gave control back to Cain, causing her body to morph into him in the blink of an eye.
"My head is hurting," Cain held his head, growing.
'Sorry! I'm not used to living brains,' Morena whispered in his head, 'I would be up for a punishment night-hehe.'
"You would get one," Cain stood as the girls helped him, "Do you remember anything?" Alice asked.
"Not at all," He sighed, "But I can see what Morena did from her memories," Flicking his finger, he conjured a chair to sit on.
Cain then stared at the girls, "Are you all right? You seemed to have trouble with Levistus."
Sofia looked away, "We might have underestimated his power..." She scratched her chin, "Since when can you freeze flames?"
"Magical flame is air heated until it glows. If cooled enough, it will turn into a liquid and then freeze." Cain explained, "You were dealing with a devil lord. You should have expected that." He sighed.
"We're not mages like you," Alice sat beside him, "Since you're here, can you lead us to the lower lair?"
Cain stood, "Since Morena finished Glasya, Malbolge should be safe for now. His body started floating, and so did the girls, "Hold up. We will fly there immediately." But as he said that, he felt something.
"Hold a moment," Cain said, landing down and clapping his hands.
A blue portal appeared, and Gracie, Ellie, and Amaya walked through.
Seeing them, Sofia rushed toward Gracie, "Are you all right?" she asked.
Gracie nodded. "I'm fine. The angels have good recovery magic."
"You should rest," Cain said, approaching Gracie.
"No, I will go with you all," she replied, looking at Ellie and Amaya. "We want to go as well,"
Cain looked at them and then nodded with a smile, "Fine. The next layer is Malboge. The domain of the cubus, so stay close to me," He told them, and they nodded, "And one last thing," He looked at Gracie.
"What is it?" She stared back at him.
"We might find Meliliana in there," He warned her.
Gracie stared at him momentarily and smiled, "That won't be a problem, and if it was, then I'm counting on you."
"Let's go then," Cain said as he caused everyone to float. BAM! They flew toward the hole dug by Morena.
'Cain, do you have a moment?' Morena whispered in his mind.
'What is it?'
'Meliliana is in the lair below. Make sure you catch her alive.'
'Why is that?'
'Gracie might look fine, but I can feel her shaking a bit,' Morena whispered, 'We need to make sure she is fine first,'
'How do we do that? Do you have any idea?'
'Yes, force Meliliana to submit to Gracie.' Morena replied with a slight grin in Cain's mind.
Cain nodded as they passed by the hole and stared down at Malbolg.